Container and method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A method for manufacturing a food and/or beverage packaging container is provided. The method includes injection molding a preform using a two phase injection system. A first phase of the two phase injection system includes injecting a first material into the preform and a second phase of the two phase injection system includes injecting a second material into the preform. The method further includes disposing the preform in a mold, blow molding the preform into an intermediate article having a length, a diameter and side walls having a wall thickness, and trimming the intermediate article to form a finished container having a wide mouth neck. Systems and finished products are disclosed.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to blow-molded containers andmore particularly to wide mouth plastic containers and methods formaking the same for food packaging.

BACKGROUND

Plastic blow-molded containers are commonly used for food packagingproducts. Many food and beverage products are sold to the consumingpublic in wide mouth jar-like blow-molded containers. These containerscan be made from polyethylene terephythalate or other suitable plasticresins in a range of sizes. The empty blow-molded containers can befilled with food and/or beverage products at a fill site utilizingautomated fill equipment.

For example, manufacture of such plastic blow-molded containers caninclude initially forming plastic resin into a preform, which may beprovided by injection molding. Typically, the preform includes a mouthand a generally tubular body that terminates in a closed end. Prior tobeing formed into containers, preforms are softened and transferred intoa mold cavity configured in the shape of a selected container. In themold cavity, the preforms are blow-molded or stretch blow-molded andexpanded into the selected container.

Such plastic blow-molded containers may be produced on single stageinjection mold equipment. The single stage blow molding process combinesthe injection molding of the preform and blowing of the container intoone machine. This machine has an extruder that melts resin pellets andinjects the molten resin into a mold to create the preform. The preformis transferred to a blow station to form the container and removed fromthe machine. In some cases, the plastic blow-molded containers areproduced with two-stage equipment. The two-stage equipment makespreforms in an injection molding machine and then reheats and blows thepreforms into selected containers in a separate blowing machine. Thisdisclosure describes an improvement over these prior art technologies.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method for manufacturing a food and/or beveragepackaging container is provided. The method includes injection molding apreform using a two phase injection system. A first phase of the twophase injection system includes injecting a first material into thepreform and a second phase of the two phase injection system includesinjecting a second material into the preform, wherein the first materialis different than the second material. The method further includesdisposing the preform in a mold, blow molding the preform into anintermediate article having a length, a diameter and side walls having awall thickness, and trimming the intermediate article to form a finishedcontainer having a wide mouth neck. The trimmed portion made from thefirst material being salvaged, ground and reused. Systems and finishedproducts are disclosed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will become more readily apparent from thespecific description accompanied by the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side cross section view of a component of one embodiment ofa container system in accordance with the principles of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a component of one embodiment of a containersystem in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a side view of a component of one embodiment of a containersystem in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a method of manufacturing a container inaccordance with the principles of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a table showing various weights of various containers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The exemplary embodiments of blow-molded containers and moreparticularly, wide mouth polyethylene terephythalate (PET) containersand methods for making the same are discussed in terms of food packagingproducts. In some embodiments, the present container is manufactured viaan injection molded preform, which is subjected to a blow mold and trimprocess. In some embodiments, the present container can be filled withfood, food preparation oils, viscous and/or beverage products. In someembodiments, the present container can be employed as a cold fillcontainer. In some embodiments, the present container can be employed asa hot fill container. In some embodiments, the present container ismanufactured as a 22 ounce container filled with a non-dairy creamer. Insome embodiments, the present container is manufactured as a onekilogram container filled with a non-dairy creamer. In some embodiments,the present container is manufactured as a 60 ounce container filledwith peanut butter. In some embodiments, the present container isemployed as a light weight, high strength and barrier food packagingproduct.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure includes a container systemthat is employed with a method for manufacturing food packaging havingthe ability to produce food packages in a manner that minimizes the costof scrap material and/or allows the scrap material to be reused in otherapplications, such as, for example, the manufacturing of other foodpackaging, as described herein.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure includes a method ofproducing a wide mouth container wherein rather than the barriermaterial being located only in a discrete layer and not throughout thepreforms, a comingled material, such as, for example, polyethyleneterephythalate (PET) and an oxygen scavenger, is targeted only in theareas needed in the blow molding container and not in the dome or moilscrap.

In some embodiments, the scrap material produced in manufacturing thewide mouth container is free of material additives so that the scrapmaterial may be reused in subsequent manufacturing procedures, such as,for example, manufacturing additional wide mouth containers. Providingscrap material that is free of additives allows for full utilization ofthe scrap material and avoids processing issues associated withreprocessing scrap material that normally would contain additives andbarrier materials.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure includes a method ofproducing a wide mouth container wherein scrap material produced inmanufacturing the wide mouth container is free of material additives,such as, for example, passive oxygen scavengers, active oxygenscavengers, colorants, calcium carbonate fillers and foaming agents.These additives serve particular functions in a PET bottle or container.In some embodiments, the scrap material produced in manufacturing thewide mouth container is a dome or moil scrap that is trimmed from anintermediate article to form the wide mouth container. In blow and trimapplications where a portion of the blown container is removed from thefinal bottles (dome, moil, etc.) it is desirable to not have theseadditives in the portion that is being removed. There are numerousreasons for not having these additives in the removed portion of thebottle, such as, for example, cost savings and reprocessing issues.Indeed, many of these additives are expensive and it is desirable not toadd extra cost into sections of the bottle that will not be used in themarketplace. Moreover, these additives can cause considerable reuseissues in the grinding, drying and extrusion processes of the dome andmoil. Processors want to be able to reintroduce this scrap material backinto their processes so as not to lose the cost of the PET. In someembodiments, these additives can cause clarity issues, yellowing,varying color percentages and activation of the active oxygen scavengerswhen reintroduced in the process along with virgin PET.

In blow and trim applications, the presence of a discrete layer ofadditives in the preform can cause layer delamination issues at the trimpoint on the bottle. In some embodiments, the present disclosure avoidsthis by stopping the multi-layered preform material short of the trimpoint, which allows for a section of the blown bottle (primarily in theneck finish) not to have the needed additive present. In the event thatthe trim point is not a discrete line, the metal or plastic coveroverlapping the thread portion would act as a physical oxygen block andlittle to no loss in oxygen blocking would occur in this region.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure involves a two phaseinjection system. In a first phase of the two phase injection system,virgin PET is injected into a preform. In a second phase of the twophase injection system, PET and one or more selected additives areinjected into the preform. That is, the PET and one or more selectedadditives are injected into the preform in a second injection cycle. Insome embodiments, the second phase begins after the first phase iscompleted. This allows a dome or moil section of the blown bottle thatis trimmed from a finished container and is ultimately ground, blended,dried and added to the virgin PET melt stream to be free of additiveswhich will prevent the problems discussed above when the scrap isreused. In some embodiments, the term “virgin PET” refers to a materialthat consists solely of PET. That is, virgin PET does not include anyadditives, such as, for example, the additives discussed above.

It is envisioned that the present disclosure may be useful formanufacturers that run multiple sizes of blow and trim bottles forvarious end uses. For example, the present disclosure may be useful toproduce containers for food items, such as, for example, dressings,sauces and peanuts, wherein oxygen permeation through the side walls ofthe container negatively affect shelf life and/or product flavor. It isenvisioned that the present disclosure may be useful to producecontainers for food items, such as, for example, non-dairy coffeecreamers that require color pigment for both fill-line concealment andproduct protection against UV light penetration. Other containers thatcan be made from the disclosed process include containers formayonnaise, salad dressings, peanuts as well as other condiments and/orfood products.

As shown in FIG. 5, the dome or moil section of the blown containerconstitutes 15%-40% of the total injected preform weight.

This material must be ground and reprocessed back into the system foreconomic considerations. Due to the high percentage of scrap material inthe blown containers, it is desirable to produce scrap material that isfree of any additives, such as, for example, the additives discussedabove, to avoid wasting expensive additives and/or avoid complicationsor costs involved in processing scrap material that includes additivesrelative to scrap material that does not include additives.

In some embodiments, the present manufacturing method includes the stepsof employing a single stage blow molding process and providing a preformthat produces containers having a dome. In some embodiments, the methodincludes injection molding the preform using a two phase injectionsystem, wherein a first phase of the two phase injection systemcomprises injecting a first material into the preform and a second phaseof the two phase injection system comprises injecting a second materialinto the preform. The first material having a different configurationprofile than the second material. In some embodiments, the firstmaterial is virgin PET without additives and the second material is PETwith additives. This allows the first material section to be reground asvirgin PET so as to avoid regrinding issues discussed above.

In some embodiments, the method includes the step of testing the one ormore preforms to ensure the one or more preforms include a selectedweight and selected neck finish dimension. In some embodiments, themethod includes the step of employing the one or more preforms with afour cavity production mold. In some embodiments, the method includesthe step of blow molding the one or more preforms, which may comprise acontainer. In some embodiments, the method includes the step of trimmingthe one or more blow-molded preforms. In some embodiments, the step oftrimming includes a spin trim operation to remove a dome from the one ormore blow-molded preforms. In some embodiments, the method includes atwo-stage blow molding process such that the one or more preforms areinjection molded and stored before blowing the one or more preforms toproduce a container. In some embodiments, the method includes reusingthe dome to produce other containers, such as, for example other widemouth containers. In some embodiments, reusing the dome includesgrinding, blending, drying and adding the dome and adding the ground,blended and dried material to a melt stream, wherein the done does notcontain additives.

The present disclosure may be understood more readily by reference tothe following detailed description of the embodiments taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing figures, which form a part ofthis disclosure. It is to be understood that this application is notlimited to the specific devices, methods, conditions or parametersdescribed and/or shown herein, and that the terminology used herein isfor the purpose of describing particular embodiments by way of exampleonly and is not intended to be limiting. Also, in some embodiments, asused in the specification and including the appended claims, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference toa particular numerical value includes at least that particular value,unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressedherein as from “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to“about” or “approximately” another particular value. When such a rangeis expressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular valueand/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values areexpressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it willbe understood that the particular value forms another embodiment. It isalso understood that all spatial references, such as, for example,horizontal, vertical, top, upper, lower, bottom, left and right, are forillustrative purposes only and can be varied within the scope of thedisclosure. For example, the references “upper” and “lower” are relativeand used only in the context to the other, and are not necessarily“superior” and “inferior”.

The following discussion includes a description of a container systemfor producing food packaging products, a container, related componentsand methods of manufacturing a container with an injection moldedpreform. Alternate embodiments are also disclosed. Reference is made indetail to the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, which areillustrated in the accompanying figures. Turning to FIGS. 1-4, there areillustrated components of a container system and methods ofmanufacturing a container.

A finished PET blow-molded, wide mouth container 10, as shown in FIG. 3,is constructed for use with a selected application, as described herein.In some embodiments, the selected application includes food, foodpreparation oils, viscous and/or beverage products. In some embodiments,the selected application includes a 15 ounce container filled withmayonnaise. In some embodiments, the selected application includes a 30ounce container filled with mayonnaise. In some embodiments, theselected application includes a 16 ounce container filled with peanuts.In some embodiments, the selected application includes a 1 kilogramcontainer filled with non-dairy coffee creamer. In some embodiments, theselected application includes a 22 ounce container filled with non-dairycoffee creamer.

In some embodiments, finished container 10 comprises a bottle for foodand/or beverage product packaging having a cylindrical threaded neck 12wherein an outer diameter has a continuous thread 14. In someembodiments, thread 14 is in a range of about 53 mm to about 162 mm. Insome embodiments, finished container 10 is manufactured via a two-stagemethod, as described herein. In some embodiments, finished container 10has an outer finish diameter in a range of about 53 mm to about 120 mm.In some embodiments, finished container 10 is manufactured via a singlestage method, as described herein. In some embodiments, finishedcontainer 10 has an outer finish diameter of about 162 mm. Container 10is produced as a lower part of an intermediate article 16, as shown inFIG. 2. In some embodiments, container 10 is formed by injection moldinga preform 18 and then placing preform 18 into a cavity of a moldassembly, to be blown.

In some embodiments, container 10 is manufactured via a two-stagemethod, as shown in FIG. 4. In some embodiments, an initial step S1includes injection molding preform 18 in an injection molding machineIJM during a first stage of the manufacturing operation. Preform 18 hasa thread forming surface 24 below a preform neck 26. In someembodiments, preform 18 has thread forming surface 24, which includes aportion of preform 18 below neck 26 that will press against moldassembly 22 to form neck 12 and thread 14. In some embodiments,container 10 may be manufactured with a snap fit portion, spiral threadsand/or a beaded rim. In some embodiments, preform 18 can be injectionmolded with a neck diameter smaller than the neck diameter of finishedcontainer 10, such that a diameter of an opening 28 at a top of moldassembly 22 is substantially reduced. As such, a plurality of moldcavities may be placed in mold assembly 22 of a blow machine of thetwo-stage equipment to provide improved production capacity. In someembodiments, container 10 may be manufactured with a hoop stretch ratioin a range of about 1.6 to 1 to about 2.0 to 1. In some embodiments, astep S2 includes removing preform 18 from machine IJM.

In some embodiments, injection molding preform 18 comprises injectionmolding preform 18 using a two phase injection system, wherein a firstphase of the two phase injection system comprises injecting a firstmaterial M1 into preform 18 and a second phase of the two phaseinjection system comprises injecting a second material M2 into preform18. This results in material M1 forming a top portion of preform 18 andmaterial M2 forming a bottom portion of preform 18. Material M1 isdifferent than material M2. In some embodiments, material M1 is virginPET and material M2 comprises PET and at least one additive. In someembodiments, material M1 is PET and material M2 comprises PET and atleast one additive. In some embodiments, the at least one additive in M2is selected from a group consisting of passive oxygen scavengers, activeoxygen scavengers, colorants, calcium carbonate fillers and foamingagents.

In some embodiments, the two-stage method includes one or more steps ina second stage of the manufacturing operation. For example, in a step S3of the second stage, preform 18 is provided having a dome formingsurface 30, thread forming surface 24 and a body forming surface 32. Insome embodiments, the second stage includes a step S4, which comprisespre-heating preform 18 to a temperature in a range of about 95 degreesCelsius (C) to about 110 degrees C. In some embodiments, dome formingsurface 30 is formed solely from material M1, for example, virgin PET.That is, dome forming surface 30 is free of material M2 and does notcontain any additives. In some embodiments, thread forming surface 24 isformed solely from material M2. That is, thread forming surface 24 isfree of material M1 and contains additives. In some embodiments, bodyforming surface 32 is formed solely from material M2. That is, bodyforming surface 32 is free of material M1 and contains additives.

In some embodiments, the second stage includes a step S5, whichcomprises mounting pre-heated preform 18 in place within cavity 20 ofmold assembly 22. Mold assembly 22 has an interior mold surface shapedto correspond to the selected configuration of container 10. In someembodiments, the temperature of mold assembly 22 is in a range of about40 degrees Fahrenheit (F) to about 110 degrees F. Preform 18 has aflange 34, which mounts on mold assembly 22 adjacent opening 28. Preform18 has surface 30 that forms dome 36 of intermediate article 16, surface24 that forms neck 12 of intermediate article 16 and surface 32, whichforms body 38 of intermediate article 16. In some embodiments, surface30 has a wall thickness in a range of about 0.100 inches (in) to about0.200 in. In some embodiments, surface 24 has a wall thickness in arange of about 0.100 in to about 0.200 in. In some embodiments, surface32 has a wall thickness in a range of about 0.100 in to about 0.200 in.

A step S6 includes blowing air into preform 18 to mold intermediatearticle 16, as shown in FIG. 4. In some embodiments, air is blown from adryer and at a pressure in a range of about 35 to about 40 bar blowninto an open end 40 of preform 18 to stretch or extend surfaces 30, 24,32 and a bottom surface 42 of preform 18 radially outwardly and axiallydownwardly against the interior molding surface of mold assembly 22, asshown in FIG. 3. A step S7 includes removing intermediate article 16from mold assembly 22.

In some embodiments, preform 18 has a diameter of about 3.3 inchesadjacent surface 24 and a length of about 6.2 inches; and intermediatearticle 16 has a diameter of about 6 inches and a length of about 10.3inches. In some embodiments, finished container 10, after trimming ofintermediate article 16 as described herein, has a maximum diameter ofabout 7.25 inches.

In some embodiments, dome 36 is attached to an upper edge of neck 12along an annular recess 44. In some embodiments, the second stageincludes a step S8, which comprises removing and/or trimming off dome 36from intermediate article 16 adjacent neck 12 with a trimming machineTM. Dome 36 is severed from intermediate article 16 to produce finishedcontainer 10, as shown in FIG. 3. As such, the second stage includes astep S9 of providing finished container 10.

In some embodiments, dome 36 is scrap material that may be reused inanother manufacturing process, such as, for example, the manufacturingof another container, such as, for example, another wide mouthcontainer. In such embodiments, dome may be free of any of the additivesdiscussed above due to the two phase injection system of preform 18discussed above.

Dome 36 may be ground, blended, dried and added to a melt stream toproduce a second preform. In some embodiments the melt stream includesvirgin PET without any other additives. In some embodiments the meltstream includes PET in addition to one or more of the additivesdiscussed above. In some embodiments the melt stream includes virgin PETwithout any other additives and one or more of the additives discussedabove is added to the melt stream after ground, blended and dried dome36 is added to the melt stream. The second preform is disposed in amold, similar to step S3 discussed above. The second preform may then bepre-heated, similar to step S4 discussed above. In some embodiments, thepreheated second preform is mounted in place within a cavity of a mold,such as, for example, cavity 20 of mold assembly 22, similar to step S5discussed above. In some embodiments, the second preform is air blown tomold a second intermediate article similar to intermediate article 16,similar to step S6 discussed above. The second intermediate article isremoved from the mold assembly, similar to step S7 discussed above. Insome embodiments, a dome of the second intermediate article, similar todome 36, is removed and/or trimmed off from the second intermediatearticle adjacent a neck of the second intermediate article that issimilar to neck 12 with a trimming machine, such as, for exampletrimming machine TM. The dome of the second intermediate article issevered from the second intermediate article to produce a secondfinished container that is similar to finished container 10.

In some embodiments, finished container 10 and/or the second finishedcontainer, as described herein, can be fabricated from materialssuitable for food packaging products. In some embodiments, suchmaterials include synthetic polymers such as thermoplastics, semi-rigidand rigid materials, elastomers, fabric and/or their composites.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made to theembodiments disclosed herein. Therefore, the above description shouldnot be construed as limiting, but merely as exemplification of thevarious embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision othermodifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A finished container and scrap material made by aprocess comprising the steps of: injection molding a preform comprisinga first material and a second material; disposing the preform in a mold;blow molding the preform into an intermediate article; and trimming theintermediate article to form the finished container and the scrapmaterial, the finished container comprising the first material and thescrap material comprising the second material, the scrap material beingfree of the first material.
 2. The finished container and scrap materialrecited in claim 1, wherein injection molding the preform comprisesusing a two phase injection system, a first phase of the two phaseinjection system comprises injecting the first material into the preformand a second phase of the two phase injection system comprises injectingthe second material into the preform.
 3. The container and scrapmaterial recited in claim 1, wherein the finished container is free ofthe second material.
 4. The container and scrap material recited inclaim 1, wherein the finished container has a wide mouth neck.
 5. Thecontainer and scrap material recited in claim 1, wherein the firstmaterial comprises virgin polyethylene terephythalate (PET) and thesecond material comprises PET and at least one additive.
 6. Thecontainer and scrap material recited in claim 5, wherein the at leastone additive comprises at least one of a group consisting of passiveoxygen scavengers, active oxygen scavengers, colorants, calciumcarbonate fillers and foaming agents.
 7. The container and scrapmaterial recited in claim 1, wherein the first material consists ofpolyethylene terephythalate (PET) and the second material comprises PETand at least one additive.
 8. The container and scrap material recitedin claim 7, wherein the at least one additive comprises at least one ofa group consisting of passive oxygen scavengers, active oxygenscavengers, colorants, calcium carbonate fillers and foaming agents. 9.A first finished container and a second finished container made by aprocess comprising the steps of: injection molding a first preformcomprising a first material and a second material; disposing the firstpreform in a mold; blow molding the first preform into a firstintermediate article; trimming the first intermediate article to formthe first finished container and produce scrap material, the firstfinished container comprising the first material and the scrap materialcomprising the second material, the scrap material being free of thefirst material; injecting the scrap material into a second preform;disposing the second preform in a mold; blow molding the second preforminto a second intermediate article; and trimming the second intermediatearticle to form the second finished container.
 10. The first finishedcontainer and the second finished container recited in claim 9, whereininjection molding the first preform comprises using a two phaseinjection system, wherein a first phase of the two phase injectionsystem comprises injecting the first material into the first preform anda second phase of the two phase injection system comprises injecting thesecond material into the first preform.
 11. The first finished containerand the second finished container recited in claim 9, wherein the firstfinished container has a wide mouth neck.
 12. The first finishedcontainer and the second finished container recited in claim 9, whereinthe first material is virgin polyethylene terephythalate (PET) and thesecond material comprises PET and at least one additive.
 13. The firstfinished container and the second finished container recited in claim12, wherein the at least one additive comprises at least one of a groupconsisting of passive oxygen scavengers, active oxygen scavengers,colorants, calcium carbonate fillers and foaming agents.
 14. The firstfinished container and the second finished container recited in claim 9,wherein the first material consists of polyethylene terephythalate (PET)and the second material comprises PET and at least one additive.
 15. Thefirst finished container and the second finished container recited inclaim 14, wherein the at least one additive comprises at least one of agroup consisting of passive oxygen scavengers, active oxygen scavengers,colorants, calcium carbonate fillers and foaming agents.
 16. A firstfinished container and a second finished container made by a processcomprising the steps of: injection molding a first preform comprising afirst material and a second material; disposing the first preform in amold; blow molding the first preform into a first intermediate article;trimming the first intermediate article to form the first finishedcontainer and produce scrap material; injecting the scrap material intoa second preform; disposing the second preform in a mold; blow moldingthe second preform into a second intermediate article; trimming thesecond intermediate article to form the second finished container,wherein the first finished container comprises the first material, thescrap material comprising the second material, the scrap material beingfree of the first material, the first finished container being free ofthe second material.
 17. The first finished container and the secondfinished container recited in claim 16, wherein injection molding thefirst preform comprises using a two phase injection system, wherein afirst phase of the two phase injection system comprises injecting thefirst material into the first preform and a second phase of the twophase injection system comprises injecting the second material into thefirst preform.
 18. The first finished container and the second finishedcontainer recited in claim 16, wherein: the first material consists ofpolyethylene terephythalate (PET) and the second material comprises PETand at least one additive; and the at least one additive comprises atleast one of a group consisting of passive oxygen scavengers, activeoxygen scavengers, colorants, calcium carbonate fillers and foamingagents.